Noida resident loses ₹52 lakh in share market fraud

A 66-year-old Noida man was duped of ₹52 lakh by fraudsters posing as bank executives, lured by fake investment schemes, police say.

A 66-year-old man in Noida was duped of ₹52 lakh by fraudsters posing as executives of a British multinational bank. The victim, a resident of Noida Sector 31, was duped on the pretext of investing in securities between March 12 and April 11, police said, adding that a case was registered at the Cybercrime police station.

The suspects posed as bank executives and regulators of securities. (Representational image)

The victim retired as an engineer, said police. In his complaint to police, he said, “On March 12, I was added to a WhatsApp group of a British bank’s securities group with a logo. At least 100 people were added to that group and were told to invest in stocks.”

The suspects posed as bank executives and regulators of securities. “They (fraudsters) added the victim from one group to another and then another. Later, he received a link and was asked to download an application to start trading. The app also displayed the logo of a British MNC bank,” said Ranjeet Singh, cybercrime branch station house officer.

“Cybercriminals gave him lucrative deals at a discount of 30% and later asked him to transfer money. He was allowed to withdraw some money in the first attempt, but when he tried again, the suspects prevented him from doing so, citing a credit score that was displayed on the application,” Singh added.

The victim transferred more than ₹52 lakh to the suspects in multiple payments, and when he was asked to transfer another ₹5 lakh, he found it suspicious and reported the incident to police on April 16.

“Following an investigation, a case of cheating and cheating by personation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act was registered on Wednesday, and efforts are underway to recover money,” added Singh.